FOX BUSINESS - Oct 16 - Facebook is not the place to go for online dating, according to IAC and Expedia chairman and senior executive Barry Diller. He said that if a company focuses on one thing, it will tend to do it better than others who are "dabbling." "The truth is we have not yet seen competition from Facebook," Diller said. "It's our business. For them, it's a little side business."
by Catie Perry
See full article at Fox Business
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GLOBE NEWSWIRE - Oct 3 - Pomerantz is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Match Group whether Match and its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. On Sep 25, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it had sued Match.com for, among other things, using artificial "love interest" ads to deceive consumers into buying or upgrading subscriptions, failing to resolve disputed charges, and intentionally making it difficult to cancel subscriptions.
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WALL STREET JOURNAL - Oct 4 - The Federal Trade Commission alleges, among other things, that Match induced nonpaying users to subscribe to its Match.com app based on "fake love advertisements" identified as potentially fraudulent. Suits against other dating platforms brought by the FTC over the past several years have resulted in settlements requiring companies to change business practices, enhance security and provide some monetary compensation to deceived consumers. Match's stock, which is up 73% in the year to date, has fallen 12% over the past month. Since the FTC's claims date back two years, it doesn’t appear that this case will resolve itself soon. None of the practices the FTC is alleging remain in place today, according to the company.
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FTC - Sep 26 - The Federal Trade Commission is suing Match Group for allegedly using fake accounts to get more people to sign up for paid subscriptions. "We believe that Match.com conned people into paying for subscriptions via messages the company knew were from scammers," said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. Match allows users to create profiles free of charge, but prohibits them from responding to messages without paying. The FTC alleges that millions of contacts that generated Match's "You caught his eye" notices came from accounts the company had already flagged as likely to be fraudulent. By contrast, Match prevented existing subscribers from receiving emails from a suspected fraudulent account. In a statement, Match Group dismissed the FTC accusations as "completely meritless" and says the allegations are supported by "consciously misleading figures." The FTC also alleges Match deceptively induced consumers to subscribe to Match.com by promising them a free six-month subscription if they did not "meet someone special," without adequately disclosing that consumers must meet numerous requirements before the company would honor the guarantee.
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MIRROR.CO.UK - Sep 17 - A new survey by Match asked 2K participants about their behaviours when it comes to dating. 52% of female respondents struggle to find someone who stimulates them intellectually, with 37% feeling like they intimate men with their intelligence. 59% have actually 'dumbed down' on a date to seem less intelligent. But 82% of respondents said they’d go on a date with someone who wasn't clever, as long as they were attractive.
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BENZINGA - Sep 8 - Here's a comparison of Facebook Dating with Match.com and Tinder.
Cost
Facebook - Free. At first, it will also be without ads
Match.com - A basic profile is free. The premium annual subscription is ~$20 a month.
Tinder: Basic Tinder is free. Tinder Plus costs $9.99/month.
Safety
Facebook: Lets users on a date share real-time location with friends on Facebook Messenger.
Match.com: Report abuse or assault in the app or online.
User Numbers
Facebook: Unknown; Facebook hasn't disclosed.
Match.com: Average subscribers on all of Match Group's apps grew 18% to 9.1M in the Q2 of 2019.
Tinder: 5.2M as of Q2 2019
How Old Are These People?
Facebook: undisclosed, but users on the overall platform are between 25 and 34
Match.com: 28% are 54- 74, 36% are 39 - 53 and 31% are 24 - 38
by Dave Royse
See full article at Yahoo Finance
See all posts on Facebook Dating
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DALLAS INNOVATES - Aug 30 - Hesam Hosseini, the new CEO at Match.com, talks about Match.com's makeover. He and his team have completely overhauled the app so much that it's unrecognizable from a year ago. Hosseini wants to slow people down, there's a strict no swiping rule on Match, so users have to deliberately spend more than a second on somebody's profile. "Match has never been about quantity. It's always been about quality," he says. "We have to date a little bit smarter, helping people realize what they want and getting them to change their behavior." The app has launched AskMatch, a "dating coach" service that's free and available to all paying members. Users can speak to a highly trained coach over the phone to ask about anything concerning their dating life. AskMatch is currently being introduced across the country.
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FAST COMPANY - Aug 26 - Introduced in New York City in May, the AskMatch dating coaching service is now available in 18 states and Washington, D.C., with plans to expand to all U.S. subscribers by January 2020. The coaching - typically over the phone - is included in Match's standard subscription. "We get people who say, 'I need help flirting. I forgot how to flirt,'" says Katie Wilson, a veteran dating coach who came to Match in Dec 2018 to build its team. Wilson spent four and a half years as a manager and director at matchmaking company Three Day Rule. The L.A.-based boutique service has had a partnership with Match since 2014, aimed at users who want to get personalized matchmaking. Three Day Rule coaches will appear in tips videos for AskMatch.
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HBR.ORG - Aug 5 - The speed of change is one of the things I love about this industry. Companies need to innovate constantly - with technology, pricing, product features, and business models - to stay ahead of competitors and continue to grow. I ran Chemistry.com from 2006 to 2008. It was my first general management job, and I loved building the team. We grew the site quickly. As Chemistry.com expanded, the company's flagship Match.com seemed to be plateauing. So in 2008 management asked me to move over to Match.com and try to reenergize that brand. Two important shifts were under way that hurt Match.com. First, OkCupid and Plenty of Fish, had pioneered a new ad-supported business model. The second shift involved algorithms. By 2008 companies were getting more sophisticated about analyzing and understanding users' preferences and behavior. In 2009 Match made its first big acquisition, in the form of a company called People Media, that had a variety of smaller sites aimed at specific demographics. Facebook and Twitter were bringing more people onto social media, which sparked more interest in online dating, especially from older people. The biggest technology shift came after 2008. That's when Apple introduced the App Store. Within a few years that completely changed the face of our industry - a change sparked largely by Tinder. Last year Tinder's revenue topped $800M, demonstrating that many people are willing to pay for features. Right now we're working on several new strategies that we expect will drive our next phase of growth.
by Mandy Ginsberg
See full article at Harvard Business Review
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MATCH.COM - July 30 - This new data reveals how America's singles are looking for love, yet are fatigued by the process - as well as their current attitudes around sex and dating. It also uncovers the sex habits of Gen Z and Millennials, how men are responding to the #MeToo movement, and how singles of all ages are rewriting America's love story. 83% feel that love is hard to find, while 43% reported believing that technology has made finding love more difficult. Yet still 75% of singles are hopeful that love is out there, and ~60% are motivated to find romantic love. Only 9% of singles are looking to date casually.
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OPW - July 31 - Rebel Wilson is partnering with Match for their new podcast called LetsMakeLove.com.
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CBS NEWS - July 31 - Match.com conducted a new study that looked at how #MeToo has affected dating culture. The study found that 51% of men have changed their behavior, 40% of men have changed their behavior at work and 33% of men have changed their behavior on a date. According to Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist and the chief scientific adviser for Match, men are being more careful, reserved and more cognizant of the kinds of jokes they make in an effort to have the right kinds of conversations.
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MINDBODYGREEN - July 4 - Match analyzed their 20 years of historical data on app activity and predict July 7, 2019 (the Sunday after the Fourth of July) will be their busiest day of the summer. That's partially because it happens over a long holiday weekend, when they always see a jump in the number of people using dating apps, but it also has to do with the real start of summer finally rolling in. According to Match, they're expecting a 20% increase in activity on July 7 in comparison to Valentine's Day.
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THREATPOST - June 21 - Analysts at ProPrivacy.com say the dating apps collect everything from chat content to financial data on their users - and then they share it. Match.com reserves the right to collect much more information than just the typical demographic breakdown of gender, age and relationship status. This is ostensibly to be able to build a thorough online profile to help find "matches"; but as a result, users will share highly personal and emotional data with the platform. Tinder highlights that it collects chat data. "Of course we also process your chats with other users as well as the content you publish, as part of the operation of the services," Tinder's privacy policy states. Match.com said in its policy that it shares basic demographic as well as "personal information" with "third parties that assist us with various tasks, including data hosting and maintenance, analytics, customer care, marketing, advertising, payment processing and security operations."
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PSFK - June 12 - Childcare, which is notoriously expensive and hard to manage, can be a hurdle for parents who want to pursue their social lives on top of raising children. So Match.com partnered with European childcare booking service Yoopies to provide three free hours of babysitting to U.K. users who are single parents.
Mark Brooks: This is a great example of how dating apps can extend services (and demonstrate care). There are so many more aspects to dating, and relationships, and life after dating that we can delve into and deliver curated services.
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PROPRIVACY - June 6 - Nearly half of the Match Group's subscribers are not aware of the other dating platforms owned by IAC. 61% of subscribers across Match.com, Tinder, OKCupid, Plenty of Fish and Hinge are concerned about the amount of data they share with the platforms. 65% don't know who owns their dating service. In order for online dating services to be effective at finding compatible partners, they require data. The more personal data they feed into the platforms, the better chance they have of finding a match. But many users don't realize just how much data they're giving away or exactly how these companies use that data once it's handed it over. This lack of awareness is by design. Tinder states in its privacy policy, "…we do not promise, and you should not expect, that your personal information will always remain secure."
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FOX5NY - May 21 - The online dating sector is turning to artificial intelligence. Match.com in the UK launched Lara, an AI dating coach available on Google Home smart speakers and some Android devices. Users ask Lara for a match and can then ask for suggestions on what to say to or do with the person they're matched with. Dating app companies are trying to figure out how to satisfy their users, which is why they are trying AI. AIMM, a voice-activated dating app, launched last year and is being tested in Denver with about a thousand users. AIMM sets up dates, preps users before the first date, gives them advice, and checks in with both people to see how it went. And it even recommends whether they should continue to date or move on to someone else. Experts believe this is the future.
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BUSINESS INSIDER - May 14 - This week, Match rolled out its new member service, AskMatch, a one-on-one phone call with a dating coach. Members can discuss issues like dressing for a first date, defining a relationship, or even pick up line workshopping. According to Match CEO Hesam Hosseini, the service performed best with young men in its beta test, with three times more men opting into the service than women. Hosseini joined as CEO in January 2018 and was swiftly tasked with helping the service appear to his millennial peers. "I'm a millennial, and this is a service my generation wants and needs," Hosseini said. "Yes, they don't want to talk on the phone and are automating grocery delivery, but they also seek one-on-one advice for relationships. It's kind of like a personal trainer."
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